Mytholmroyd businesses getting back on its feet

Homes and businesses took a battering as the deluge swept across Calderdale. The Whitesands travel building, on Burnley Road, collapsed under the weight of flood water and many other businesses were left devastated.

The Co-op supermarket and petrol station were submerged as water engulfed the borough, but as the weeks have passed businesses have risen from the devastation to reopen their doors after the second major flood in three years.

The business fight back was epitomised by the Dusty Miller pub, which defiantly re-opened briefly for residents to celebrate New Year’s Eve and then fully re-opened three weeks later.

Landlady Carole Pollitt said: “It’s really nice to be back open, people needed to come in because they have been in shock and it’s nice that they can come back in.

“It’s a social area and that’s how it should be. Local breweries have helped me get back on my feet, they have been really, really good to me.”

It’s hard to forget the image of Brookes Newsagents swamped in water infront of the Mytholmroyd War Memorial, but the shop and Post Office, a hub of the community, has reopened.

But owner Janet Brookes said the footfall in Mytholmroyd has dropped significantly. She said: “People are going to have use us or they are going to lose us.

“There aren’t many shops or businesses open, but please support the ones that are. Help get Mytholmroyd back on its feet.”

Nihad Fattah, of King’s Barbers, Burnley Road, managed to open his doors shortly after the floods hit.

He said: “You just have to pick yourself back up again.”

The Travel Centre, at Bridge End, Mytholmroyd, was back up and running after three days, with staff working in their overalls to take bookings from across the country.

And the business is now looking to recruit more staff. Owner Roger Benn also urged people to support local businesses at this difficult time.

A new pop-up bar, The Libertine, opened on Thursday night in the former Northernroots Hair Design premises on New Road.

Owner Christian Pollitt said: “It’s still in the back of my mind that it could flood again, but people have been really positive and it’s such a great community. It’s something for the community and somewhere people can go.”

Susan Slater, of Headquarters Hairdressers, has moved her business to Hair World, White Lee Business Park.

She said: “It became apparent that nothing could be saved, so I decided that I would need to find some way of keeping my business going as without clients there is no business.

“I went along to see Howard and his staff at Hair World to ask if there was any possibility of me joining him and very thankfully he said yes.

“I had been offered a room in Hebden Bridge which was very kind but most of my client base is in Mytholmroyd, having lost my appointment book and record cards with client’s phone numbers on I had to spend lots of time on the phone trying to get in contact with them.

“It’s quite a hive of activity up here and I don’t know what I would have done without their help, but in times like this its wonderful how people especially in our community all rally round to help others.”